Naoko ito biography for kids
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by David Jacobson, Seattle, Washington
“Who was Misuzu Kaneko?”
That’s what my colleagues and I at Chin Music Press asked when we set out to create our forthcoming picture book, Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko (release date: Sept. 13, 2016). The question fryst vatten probably the first one that comes to mind among those not familiar with this wonderful children’s poet, who, amazingly, is little known in the English-speaking world.
Wonder
I wonder why
the rain that falls from black clouds
shines like silver.
I wonder why
the silkworm that eats green mulberry leaves
is so white.
I wonder why
the moonflower that no one tends
blooms on its own.
I wonder why
everyone I ask
about these things
laughs and says, “That’s just how it is.”
By Misuzu Kaneko
Translation © framstöt Ito and Michiko Tsuboi, 2016
Kaneko has a remarkable story. Born in 1903, she grew up in rural Yamaguchi prefecture but became quite well educated for a woman of
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[A Conversation with the President] The World, Asia and the University of Tokyo
What is the ideal form of knowledge collaboration towards which the University should aim?
Our special guest is Ms. Naoko Ishii, a UTokyo alumna who tackles global-scale environmental issues as the first Asian CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Ms. Ishii, who traverses the globe for her work, is welcomed by President Gonokami, who is pressing forward with efforts to transform the University of Tokyo into a global base for knowledge collaboration. Time seemed to pass by quickly as they talked about a wide range of topics, including the problems humanity faces, the role of the University of Tokyo in dealing with these issues, and the significance of diversity.
Moderator: Today, we invite Ms. Ishii to be here at the earnest request of President Gonokami who aspires to make the University of Tokyo into a global base for knowledge collaboration. I imagine that GEF, of which Ms. Ishii i
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Norwegian Wood (novel)
1987 novel by Haruki Murakami
Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森, Noruwei no Mori) is a 1987 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami.[1] The novel is a nostalgic story of loss.[2] It is told from the first-person perspective of Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a college student living in Tokyo.[3] Through Watanabe's reminiscences, readers see him develop relationships with two very different women—the beautiful yet emotionally troubled Naoko, and the outgoing, lively Midori.[4]
This novel is set in late-1960s Tokyo during a period when Japanese students, like those of many other nations, were protesting against the established order.[5] While it serves as the backdrop against which the events of the novel unfold, Murakami (through the eyes of Watanabe and Midori) portrays the student movement as largely weak-willed and hypocritical.
Murakami adapted the first section of the novel from an earlier